Middle Eastern-inspired nourish bowl (vegetarian)
This is undoubtedly soul food at its greatest.
The Baharat Chickpea Stew (serves 1)½ 400g can of chickpeas, drained½ small onion, diced½ diced red bell pepper½ diced courgetteGinger, garlic and chilli purée (powder is fine – use ¼ tsp each)1 tsp of Baharat spice, salt and pepper.¼ stock cube1 tbsp of tomato purée1 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
Grilled Aubergine (Will need a grill)½ large aubergine sliced 0.5cm thickExtra virgin olive oilSalt and pepper, garlic purée.
ToppingsChopped mintFetaMore black pepper
Warmly spiced, salty and so, so nourishing, this is the perfect accompaniment to a cold rainy afternoon. That’s not even the best part… this recipe only took 15 minutes from start to finish. What are you waiting for? Treat your taste buds to this nutrient-rich bowl of deliciousness!
Baharat Chickpea Stew
- In a small saucepan at medium heat, add all the olive oil.
- When the oil begins to sizzle, add the onion, all the tomato purée, Baharat and a generous squeeze of the ginger, garlic and chilli purées.
- Stir well for 1 minute and throw in the veg and chickpeas, crumbled stock cube and a little water.
- Cook on medium-low heat while you prepare the aubergine. If it becomes too thick, add some more water. (No time-limit to cook but cooking for longer is better!)
Grilled Aubergine slices
- Slather both sides of the aubergine with olive oil, salt and pepper and a smear of garlic purée
- Set the grill setting to ’10 minutes’ and cook until you get those beautiful griddle marks. Flip halfway.
- If you don’t have a grill, you could use a griddle with a little bit of oil.
Plating up
- Layer the aubergine slices on half the plate
- On the other half, pour the stew. I had lots of extra stew that didn’t fit in my plate so I smothered it over the aubergine.
- Top with lots of crumbled feta, mint and black pepper!
